A new preprint by Wang & Wu of Hunan University proves the Spherical Hadwiger Conjecture, open since 1974, using Open AI Codex assistance. The authors disclose AI helped develop proof details, identify gaps, organize the manuscript, and edit English, while taking full responsibility. This follows Claude formalizing Fermat's Last Theorem in Lean the same week.

The author, who attempted this proof in grad school, notes OpenAI's GPT-4 report estimated 100% of mathematicians' work is exposed to LLMs — higher than writers or artists. The delay in AI impact may stem from mathematics having less economic value and training data.

This raises whether pure mathematics will follow classical music into a "conservatory" model — institutionalized in academia with limited professional roles outside universities. A mathematical conservatory could preserve the field even when creating results becomes easy but understanding their import remains hard. Pure math already exists in this conservatory (the academy), with results understood by few.